


Red Flags

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [5]
Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M, Hurt Chloe, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Mutual Pining, Stubborn Oliver, stubborn chloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24221323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Trying to find Lex Luthor and get answers to their questions may be their priority, but when they can’t ignore the tension between them, Chloe and Oliver run into trouble that could have been avoided had they chosen to work on their own issues first.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Moving Targets [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Clock Tower, Metropolis--October 22, 2010**

Oliver was pacing the floor of his penthouse suite, phone pressed to his ear. "All right. What's our next move?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

It had been nine days since they'd returned from Gotham, and they'd spent most of that time searching day and night for Lex, and had come up with virtually nothing to show for it. To top that off, Chloe hadn't had anymore messages from their mysterious informant. Granted, he was kind of relieved by that.

"Well, I traced the research on Adam back to Dr. Lia Teng, she died back in 2004, but she was apparently head of the Metron Pharmaceutical Labs here in Metropolis. The labs don't exist anymore, but we can look into former staff and see if they know anything about it, I wouldn't be surprised if Lex didn't pull someone from there to work on the serum for him," Chloe told him, her eyes on the screen as she spoke to it, even though Oliver was using his regular phone, Watchtower was like her giant bluetooth at the moment.

"Yeah, that would make sense." He paused, considering that for a minute.

"I'm running a report on former employees right now." She told him.

"I figured you were. You're always a step ahead." A small smile touched his lips.

She smiled a little at that too and shrugged, glad he couldn't see her face, "if you wanna come by, we can probably cover more ground faster if we're both looking into the list."

"Yeah, I can do that." He paused. "I just have a stop to make first."

"Oh," Chloe paused, raising her eyebrows a little, "where are you going?" She asked before she could stop herself.

Oliver drew in a breath. "Luthorcorp," he admitted quietly. "To see Tess."

"Oh." She didn't follow up with anything this time.

"I've got a couple work-related things to run by her and...I think she might be our anonymous source," he said softly.

"Even if she is our source, do you think she's going to tell you?" Chloe asked, but unlike Oliver, her voice had nothing to do with 'soft'.

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not." He let out a breath.

"More on the not." She said flatly.

Oliver cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, at least you're meeting with her at LuthorCorp this time," she said shortly. "Might want to bring your jammer."

A faint smirk touched his lips. Maybe there was more to this situation than her being concerned for his _safety_. Maybe, just maybe Chloe was actually _jealous_. "I was planning on it."

"Good and if she touches you," her jaw tightened at the thought, "make sure to search for bugs."

 _Definitely jealous_ , he thought, smirk widening. "I'll be sure and let her know you think she's diseased."

Chloe paused at his words, then rolled her eyes, "and make sure your reflexes are as sharp as your sense of humor in case of flying daggers," she told him tightly.

"My reflexes are better than my sense of humor," he told her.

"That's comforting," she said, unimpressed, "if you have to make a stop, then, I will make a stop myself."

Oliver paused. "Meaning what?"

"The building Dr. Teng used to work out of is just outside the university, I'm gonna go take a look around."

He frowned. "Look, I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know who might be watching that building, Chloe."

"We don't know who might be watching LuthorCorp or Watchtower or even the clock tower, Oliver." She said stubbornly.

"But those are secure places, Chloe. We have security and cameras. You don't know what you might be walking into. Just wait and I'll go."

Chloe stopped at that, raising her eyebrows and now she was actually sorry he was going to miss the expression of pure disbelief on her face, "so let me get this straight, it's okay for _you_ to go in, you, the person who has the bullseye on their forehead, by the way, and risk yourself, but not for me to go?"

His jaw tensed. " _You_ aren't field-trained, Chloe. You don't have any backup if you go in alone."

"I'm breaking into a lab, Oliver, not stopping crime," she told him, her jaw tightening, "I've been breaking into labs since I was fifteen, I _think_ I can manage."

"It's the 'breaking in' part that worries me, and should I remind you Lex Luthor may actually be watching said lab?"

"Like I said, I have been doing it for years now, long before you even _met_ me," she told him, walking around the Watchtower and gathering whatever she was going to need even as she spoke, "breaking in used to be my specialty."

"This is a very bad idea," he informed her. "Look. Just wait for me. We'll go together."

"Sure," Chloe said, throwing her lock picker into her purse then sliding her boots on, "I'll wait."

"Promise?"

"I'm not going to promise you anything," she said sharply, "have fun with Tess."

"Chloe--"

"I'll talk to you later," without waiting for a response, she disconnected the call. And yes, maybe it wasn't the best idea ever, but she had lost count how many times she had broken into LuthorCorp labs before, with and especially _without_ Clark. She had been doing it for years and now she was much more experienced in that kind of thing and had a lot of gadgets, things _for_ this kind of thing and not gadgets she snuck out of Uncle Sam's closet when Lois wasn't looking.

Besides, it would feel good if the rest of the team would stop thinking of her as someone who _isn't_ capable of doing any kind of field work because she'd not 'field trained' as Oliver put it.

Oliver pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a moment. "Dammit, Chloe," he mumbled, moving to get his gear.

* * *

**Metron Pharmaceutical Labs, Metropolis--October 22, 2010**

Chloe had managed to make her way into the building without a problem, a smirk appearing on her face as she did. Of course, it looked like the labs were abandoned and she didn't actually expect to run into anyone in there anyway, but it was nice to see she had been right.

Quickly, she made her way to the bottom floor, using the stairs rather than the elevator to reach the underground labs, in case someone was alerted by the sound of the elevator cars. Even in a supposed vacant building, it was better to be careful.

She pulled out her phone and turned on the GPS, she had downloaded the blueprint for the facility into it to make it easier for her to navigate. Slowly, she made her way down a hallway, eyes and ears alert for any kind of unexpected sound, her heart beating faster when she realized that the bottom floor, unlike the street-level one, wasn't dusty and didn't exactly look abandoned at all. In fact, all the lightbulbs seemed to be working, and there were no cobwebs in sight.

 _This_ wasn't a good signal.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" a male voice demanded.

Chloe stilled for just a second, then ran in the opposite direction the voice had come from. Unfortunately, that meant she was running _away_ from the stairs as well as the elevator, which she knew were the only two ways out. She quickly ran down a hallway and snuck into an empty lab holding her breath and listening for footsteps.

"She went this way," a voice said, and several footsteps moved past the door to the lab she was in.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the footsteps, two men, that she could deal with. She waited until everything was still outside again and slowly, carefully started to make her way out after checking her phone again, she was two doors away from where she wanted to be, she couldn't have gone all that way for nothing, so she ran and within seconds, she made her way inside the lab, quickly closing, and locking the door behind her.

Once she was in there, she slowly took the room in, this was definitely not a dormant lab, there were files everywhere, microscopes, vials and... blood samples? She held her breath and quickly walked over to the small fridge that was holding them, opening the door without giving it a second thought and pulling out the two samples that were inside. The initials on one were TM, on the other LL. Her smirk grew, "jackpot," she said under her breath.

"Not so fast." The barrel of a gun pressed against the small of her back.

Her eyes widened and she stilled completely, realizing she hadn't actually checked the inside of the lab for any unwanted company before locking herself in there. _Smart move Chloe, good job._

"Put the vials down," the voice ordered, pressing the gun more firmly against her back. "Slowly."

Chloe did as she was told and placed both vials inside the fridge again then slowly lifted her hands, "I'm not armed," she lied.

The guard behind her smirked at that, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. "I am."

"Glad to hear that _is_ your gun," she said with a roll of her eyes, "you have your vials, I was never here, no harm done." Long shot, but she had to try.

He chuckled. "Nice try. I don't think so. I'm afraid you just got yourself into a world of trouble."

"Could be worse, could be a universe of trouble," she cringed at herself, willing herself to shut up instead of trying to be a smart ass, but it was a defense mechanism. She glanced over her shoulder, trying to figure out how tall the man was, "I can pay you more than he pays you." Or Oliver could, that was besides the point.

"Somehow I really doubt that." He paused. "Put your hands in the air."

"Trust me, I can," she told the man, raising her hands slightly but turning a little more toward him, "and offer better benefits too, like not having to work for the bad guy."

"Lady, you're breaking and entering. You _are_ the bad guy," he informed her.

"I know how this looks, but I'm not," she took a deep breath and decided for a bold move, so she turned around to face him.

Without warning he drew his gun back and slammed it into her ribcage.

Chloe gasped, her eyes wide and she could _feel_ the bones cracking under the pressure of the gun that was slammed against her at almost superhuman strength. Wrapping her arms around herself, she bent forward, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes at the sharp pain.

"Get down on the floor," he ordered, tone harsh. 

He didn't have to tell her to, her knees were weak from the pain and she held onto the side of a table as she slid down slowly, but now she knew she couldn't talk her way out of this one, so as she slid down, she slid her hand down her side, glancing up at the man as she wrapped her fingers around the gun that was nested on the side of her pants, her sideways purse had been serving as cover for it and without warning, she pointed it at him and shot him with a shaky hand.

He stumbled backwards into the door, a pained cry escaping him as he looked down at his shoulder, now gushing blood. "Bitch," he uttered, aiming his gun at her.

* * *

In full Green Arrow gear, Oliver froze in the middle of the corridor at the sound of a gunshot. So far he'd knocked out three guards and he hadn't seen any sign of Chloe, but he knew without a doubt she was there somewhere. The second gunshot made him spring back into action, running toward the direction it had come from. He paused outside a lab door, trying the handle and finding it unlocked. He tried to push it open but there was something weighing against it.

Gritting his teeth, he took a couple steps back and threw his shoulder against the doorway as hard as he could, forcing it open.

The first thing he saw was a man slumped against the counter, bleeding, a gun in his hand. As the man straightened, Oliver quickly pulled his crossbow and fired an arrow, piercing the man's hand and causing him to scream.

And that's when he saw Chloe, lying on the floor, blood pooling around her.

"No," he whispered, quickly moving to her side.


	2. Chapter 2

**Metron Pharmaceutical Labs, Metropolis--October 22, 2010**

Chloe's eyes opened wide when she heard the man scream and she forced herself to move enough to turn her head to look at what was going on, her eyes weren't really focusing because of the pain, but she saw a flash of green and that was enough to tell her what was going on. Definitely her favorite color to see at that moment, "vials," she whispered, letting her eyes close again.

"Shh," he whispered back, pressing his hand against her shoulder to stem the blood flow. "Don't try and talk."

"Get the vials," she insisted, opening her eyes slightly, "in the fridge," then cringing at the pain the pressure of his hand caused and closing her eyes again.

He glanced toward the refrigerator, gritted his teeth and quickly got to his feet, moving over to the fridge and locating the two vials of blood. He hesitated a moment, then carefully slid them into his utility belt before returning to her side. "I gotta get you to the hospital," he said urgently.

Chloe opened her eyes again and looked up at him, "Dr. Hamilton," she said in a whisper.

"I'll call him when we get there." He carefully slid his arms beneath her, lifting her into his embrace.

She groaned in pain and closed her eyes tightly, taking deep breaths as he moved her.

"Sorry," he whispered, cradling her against his chest and quickly heading for the door. "You're gonna be okay."

With a deep sigh, she tried to make herself relax, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to. She was hurt enough to be in a lot of pain, but not hurt enough to pass out from it.

His heart was beating quickly as he carried her out of the lab and down the hallway toward the elevator.

She shifted in his arms a little, groaning quietly and tensing for a moment as the movement made her hurt more, then managing to make herself relax enough so that there was no pressure on her ribs.

Realizing she wasn't just shifting from the bullet in her shoulder, he looked down at her. "What else happened?" He swallowed hard.

"Ribs," she swallowed, opening her eyes to look up at him.

"Broken?" He was glad she couldn't see his eyes because of his glasses, or she would have seen the stricken look on his face.

"Don't know," she closed her eyes again and sighed deeply, wincing as she did. She was already starting to feel like an idiot.

"Are you breathing okay?" he asked worriedly, his voice distorted.

"I think so." She said quietly, at least she didn't feel like one of her lungs had been perforated.

"All right, I'll try not to jostle you around too much," he told her, his voice growing quiet enough that the distorter didn't even pick up on it. He carried her carefully out of the elevator and down the corridor toward the nearest exit.

"My car," she told him, once they were outside, "a block north," she knew he wouldn't be able to take her in his bike and she didn't even want to think how painful it would be to take the rooftop route.

"I know. I saw it on my way here," he admitted, glad that it was fall and already getting dark outside. Less chance of being caught outside in his uniform while trying to get Chloe to safety.

She nodded a little and leaned her head against his arm, she was going to have to apologize for being an idiot later.

"You're losing a lot of blood. I need you to try and keep your eyes open for me, all right?" He hurried toward her car.

Chloe took in a breath and did her best not to breathe in too deeply, but she opened her eyes again.

"You're going to be okay." He unlocked her car door and carefully laid her down in the backseat.

She gasped and groaned as he laid her down, of course, to make it worse, her ribs were broken on the left and she had been shot on her right shoulder, so she really couldn't lean on either side, she shifted and bent her knees so that her back was flat against the seat.

"I'm sorry." He quickly unzipped his green vest to reveal the white undershirt beneath it, and shrugged the leather off his shoulders, tossing it in the passenger seat. Then he quickly moved around to the driver's seat, starting the car a second later.

Chloe sighed deeply and closed her eyes again when the car started to move, "I'm sorry." She whispered quietly.

He shook his head a little. There would be time for that later. "Don't worry about it right now," he told her, glancing at her in the rearview. "Just focus on staying awake, okay? We'll be there soon."

"You can't go in," she told him, opening her eyes again.

"Yes, I can," he responded without hesitation.

"Your uniform," she pointed out, breathing in slowly.

"I took off the vest," Oliver answered, pressing his foot to the gas pedal a little harder.

Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head a little, "you can't take off your pants."

"No one will figure it out, Chloe. Don't worry about me." For God sakes. She'd been shot and probably had broken ribs and she was worried about the possibility that someone would figure out his secret identity.

She shifted slightly in the back seat, trying to stop her bloody arm from pressing against it too much, "I can walk." It would hurt a lot, but her legs were still working fine.

"Forget it," he told her, his jaw tightening. "I'm coming in with you."

With a sigh, she rested her head against the back seat but did her best to keep her eyes open.

Moments later he was pulling the car up into the emergency lane of Metropolis General and he quickly put the vehicle in park before moving to help Chloe out of the back.

Chloe held on to him with her good arm and sighed deeply as she got out of the car then looked up at him, "you should go change." 

"I will once I make sure you're all right." He rested his hand on her hip instead of letting it wind around her waist, afraid to put any pressure on her ribs. 

Nodding slightly, she breathed out slowly, she wanted to argue, but she knew it would be pointless right now, besides, walking really was hurting as much as she expected it would, even though she was trying not to move her ribs at all, it wasn't really working.

"Would it be easier if I carried you?"

"No, it's okay," she said stubbornly, it was bad enough he had had to run to her rescue when she was trying to make a point, she had to hold on to the little pride she had left.

He sighed very softly, helping her into the emergency room waiting area. "We need some help here!" he called out.

Chloe winced when a nurse came rushing in her direction, pushing a wheelchair and helping Chloe on to it, "what happened?" She asked and Chloe saw a doctor following close behind.

Oliver raked a hand through his hair, his brown eyes filled with worry. "She was mugged," he told them. "She's got a gunshot wound to the shoulder and possibly some broken ribs."

The doctor looked at Oliver for a moment then at Chloe, checking her vitals for a second, "what's your name?"

"Chloe Sullivan," she told him, gasping a little as she took a deep breath. Sitting was making her ribs hurt more.

"Take her to the OR," the doctor told the nurse then glanced at the other man, "her vitals are good, she should be fine," he told him before making his way in the direction the nurse had taken Chloe in.

Oliver followed closely, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "You're sure?" 

"I'll be sure after I check on her," he paused and looked at Oliver, "I'm afraid you will have to wait in the waiting room."

He swallowed hard, then nodded slightly, his chest tightening. "All right," he whispered.

Chloe glanced down the hallway when the nurse turned the chair to wheel her into one of the rooms and looked at Oliver, holding his gaze until he was out of sight. She just hoped he'd listen to her and go change instead of parading around in his bright green leather pants.

* * *

**Metropolis General Hospital, October 23, 2010**

Thanks to Bart, he'd changed into a pair of sweatpants when the younger man arrived at the hospital, and he'd cleaned the blood off his hands and from beneath his nails. He paced the floor of the O.R. waiting area, glancing worriedly toward where Chloe had disappeared with the doctor and nurses a few hours before. "It shouldn't be taking this long."

"It hasn't been that long," Bart said, even though it really had been hours and he was also worried.

"It's been six hours, Bart," Oliver responded without looking at him. He swallowed hard. "She was losing a lot of blood." And he'd know. It had been all over his hands.

"But the doctor said that she was gonna be okay, right?" The younger man said, standing up too.

"That's what he said," he whispered.

"So, she's gonna be fine." Bart said firmly, nodding.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, rubbing a hand over his face. "I'm such an idiot," he muttered.

At that, Bart frowned, he'd known from the moment he got Oliver's phone call that there was more to the story than Chloe getting caught in the middle of a mission, "what really happened?"

He raked a hand through his hair again and continued to pace, glad there was no one around but them. "She went to check out the old lab where Project Lazarus had begun."

"Oh..." Bart frowned a little more, "and?"

"She went _alone_ , Bart."

Bart's eyes widened a little, "into Lex's _lab_?" He asked in disbelief, " _why_?"

"To prove a point, apparently." He sighed softly, then stopped pacing, looking at the younger man. "And because she was pissed at me."

"Damn, Chloe," Bart said, frowning still and shaking his head, "what was she trying to prove?"

"That she doesn't need my help. With anything. Ever." He grimaced.

"Guess she was proven wrong," the younger man said, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing. He didn't know what was going on between Oliver and Chloe and honestly, he didn't _want_ to know, but Chloe should have known better than that.

"It's my fault," he said quietly, looking away.

"How is that? I'm sure you didn't make her go in there by herself."

"I told her I was going to see Tess."

Bart raised an eyebrow at that, not really understanding how that had to do with anything.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "She hates Tess."

"Tess is not my favorite either," no one who unleashed thousands of crazy Kandorians on Earth and nearly got all of them killed would be on his Christmas list, "but I don't get why she would feel like proving a point because you went to see Tess."

"Because she thinks Tess is dangerous. And if I can walk into a potentially dangerous situation without backup, so can she."

"Oh," Bart raised his eyebrows a little, that made a little more sense, but he was sure there was more to this story, he just didn't think he'd want to hear it.

Before Oliver had a chance to say anything more, he heard footsteps approaching and he turned quickly to see a doctor heading toward them.

"Mr. Queen?" The doctor approached him, raising his eyebrows.

He nodded quickly, closing the distance between them. "How's she doing?"

"She lost a lot of blood, but she will be okay," the doctor assured him, "we removed the bullet and she fractured two ribs, luckily, there was no internal damage."

He shut his eyes. "Thank God."

"She's awake if you'd like to see her now," the doctor told him, motioning toward the hallway.

Oliver did, but he wasn't sure she'd want to see _him_. "Yeah, okay," he murmured, glancing back at Bart.

Bart wanted to see Chloe, too, but he would rather avoid being around when Chloe and Oliver had a probably incredibly awkward conversation, "I'll go let the others know and I'll be back later to see her." He assured Oliver.

"Thanks, Bart," he said quietly, nodding a little and then turning and following the doctor down the hall.

The doctor led Oliver down to the last room in that hallway and opened the door, but didn't step inside, "let us know if she needs anything."

He nodded a little, swallowing hard and hesitantly stepping inside the room. "Chloe?" he asked softly.

Her eyes had already been on the door when he stepped in, she had heard the doctor talking to someone and she knew Oliver wouldn't have left. Pursing her lips together, she started to take a deep breath but stopped herself, "hey."

"How ya feeling?" he asked worriedly.

Like an idiot. She answered silently then shrugged her good shoulder, "kinda groggy." 

"I think that's probably normal." He lingered by the door.

She adjusted on the bed and winced as she did, "you can come in."

Oliver drew in a breath and hesitantly stepped farther into her room. "You need anything?"

Chloe shook her head a little but didn't move otherwise, "how long was I out?"

"A few hours," he told her, moving closer to her bed and growing still.

She watched him for a long moment then looked away, "thank you," she paused for a moment, "for coming to find me."

He looked away, too. "Did you doubt I would?" he asked quietly.

"No," she admitted, "but I was hoping I wouldn't need you to."

"I would have thought by now that you of all people would have been prepared to do more than just _hope_ , Chloe." Oliver gazed at her. 

She glanced over at him then sighed, "I thought the building was abandoned, I wouldn't have gone in if I thought there was a real risk I would get hurt, Oliver." She paused for a moment, "I wouldn't put myself in danger on purpose."

"No, you'd never do that." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Then he exhaled slowly. "You just...get some rest. We'll talk about this later."

Chloe rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against the pillow, looking up at the ceiling.

"Bart's gonna be by later," he told her, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he turned to head for the door.

"Okay." She said simply, glancing over at him.

Oliver paused in the open doorway and turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay," he said quietly, voice almost inaudible.

She pursed her lips together and watched him for a moment then looked down at her lap, "I wouldn't be if it wasn't for you," she admitted, a hint of defeat in her voice.

He watched her for a moment. "When you're healed, you're gonna start training," he informed her.

Chloe frowned, raising her eyebrows, "what?"

Oliver gazed at her intently. "You want to be able to take down a guy like the one who did this to you without getting hurt?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

She held his gaze, eyes narrowing slightly, "we'll talk about it."

"No." He shook his head. "Either you swear to me--on your cousin's life you'll never pull something like this again--or you agree to start training. Those are your options, Chloe."

Chloe narrowed her eyes and rubbed her free hand over her face then sighed, "fine." She knew the tone on his voice and he wasn't going to back down, so it was better to just agree for now. They would talk about this again _later_ whether he liked it or not.

"Good." He watched her for a moment longer, then headed out the door without another word.

She watched him go and sighed deeply, gasping quietly in pain and closing her eyes, she just hoped they gave her the next dose of painkillers soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Metropolis General Hospital, October 23, 2010**

Oliver hated hospitals.

He hated everything about them. From the smell to the food to the squeaky nurses' shoes.

And he hated them even more when someone he loved was stuck there. He rubbed a hand over his face, gazing down at Chloe as she slept. His chest tightened as he watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. It had been a close call.

Way too close.

He swallowed hard, closing his eyes for a moment. If he had been just a minute later, things could have gone down much differently. Instead of lying in a hospital bed, Chloe could have been lying in the morgue. It was far too real, and far too frightening.

He opened his eyes once more to watch her, hesitantly lifting a hand to her face and tucking some hair behind her ear. "Don't do this to me again," he whispered almost inaudibly. "You're killin' me here, Chloe."

There was a soft knock on the door and J'onn opened it a second later, stepping inside the room, flowers in his hand.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, letting his hand fall away from her and turning to look over his shoulder. A faint, surprised smile touched his lips. "Hey."

"Dinah called," he told Oliver, smiling softly and walking around the opposite side of the bed and placing the flowers on the small table next to it, "how is she?"

"Right now the sedatives have been keeping her out of it for a few hours," he admitted quietly, looking over at the other man.

J'onn looked down at Chloe for a moment, "how seriously was she injured?"

"She was shot in the shoulder, couple of broken ribs." He dropped his gaze to look down at her once more, guilt in his eyes.

Frowning slightly, J'onn nodded, "do you know who did this to her?"

It occurred to him then how out of touch they'd been with their favorite martian. "Lex Luthor is alive. He's the one who brought Tess back. Chloe went to investigate something called Project Lazarus, and one of Lex's guards attacked her." He gritted his teeth a little.

"I know," J'onn told him, smiling a little at Oliver and pointing to his temple.

He blinked a couple of times, then shook his head. "Right." He blew out a breath.

"It's polite to ask," he admitted, looking down at Chloe again.

Oliver nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "How've you been?"

"Good," he told him, "work is getting steadily busier, unfortunately."

"I'm sorry we haven't kept in touch more," he said sincerely, looking over at J'onn.

"I haven't been doing a better job of it, Oliver. You don't have to apologize." J'onn assured him.

He smiled a bit and glanced down at Chloe again, his smile fading almost instantly.

"Is there anything you need, Oliver?" He asked quietly, the look on his face not going unnoticed.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, but no offense...there's nothing you can do about it." He looked up at the older man.

J'onn nodded in understanding and patted Oliver on the shoulder, "let me know if that changes."

"I will but..." He shook his head. "It won't."

He sighed softly and nodded at Oliver, "one step at a time, Oliver."

"Right now I just want to make sure she's going to be okay. That's all that matters," Oliver told him.

J'onn nodded a little and watched Oliver for a moment then looked down at Chloe again, "she'll be okay."

"You know that for sure?" he asked uncertainly.

He considered the younger man for a moment and nodded a little, his voice low, "there is a certain energy about humans," J'onn explained, "it fades when they are really sick or seriously injured. Hers is the same as it always is."

Oliver let out a sigh of relief, reaching down and brushing his fingers over hers lightly, nodding. "Good," he whispered.

"Have you had anything to eat?" J'onn asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm not hungry," he said just as quietly, shaking his head.

J'onn nodded a little, "I could bring you something if you like, or I could stay with her if you want me to."

Oliver was silent for a moment, considering. "She'll probably wake up soon." He glanced up at J'onn. "She'd probably be happier to see your face than mine." He blew out a breath. "I do need to call back to Star City."

With a soft smile, J'onn nodded, "go ahead, I will be here."

"Thanks, J'onn," he said with a slight nod, turning and heading out the door.

Chloe stirred a little in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Sighing deeply and turning her head in the pillow.

J'onn watched her then pulled up one of the two chairs in the room, sitting down and resting his hands on his lap.

* * *

Oliver called the headquarters in Star City to update the gang, then headed down toward the cafeteria. He'd been up for over eighteen hours--which wasn't unusual, really. But somehow sitting around a hospital was more draining than patrolling. He stepped onto the elevator, not giving the other man already inside a second glance as he waited for his floor. Until he caught sight of the man's bandaged right hand.

The man adjusted the sling on his arm and mumbled something under his breath as he checked his phone.

His eyes narrowed as he spotted the traces of blood seeping through the man's t-shirt from his shoulder. "Looks like you got pretty banged up." His voice was steady, even.

"Little bitches shouldn't play with guns," he grumbled, not glancing at Oliver.

Before he could stop himself, he reached out and hit the emergency brake button on the elevator, his eyes growing dark as he turned to face the man.

The guy's eyes widened and he stared over at Oliver, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You should be _thankful_ you're still alive." He stepped closer to the man, his hands curling into fists.

"Who the hell are _you_?" The man demanded, feeling around his pants with his good hand.

He chuckled at that. "The guy who's about to punch your face in," he informed him, slamming his fist into the man's face a second later.

The man groaned and lifted his good hand to cup his bloody nose, bending forward.

"That woman you shot?" He grabbed the man by his collar, shoving him up against the elevator wall and leaned in close. "That's my _girlfriend._ "

He clenched his jaw and spat blood on Oliver's face, "should learn to keep your bitch on a better leash."

"Maybe _you_ should be kept on a better leash," he said dangerously, pressing his fingers hard into the man's shoulder where he'd been shot.

The man groaned loudly and although he tried to push Oliver away, the pain made his knees weak and he barely shoved him.

He wiped the man's blood off his face with the back of his hand and then wiped it on the guy's shirt. "Go near her again and you won't be _walking_ , either," he warned lowly.

" _Oliver_ ", J'onn's voice could only be heard by Oliver for a moment and then he walked through the closed elevator door, "stop." He spoke out loud this time, his voice calm.

Feeling suddenly calm and relaxed, he let his hand fall away from the other man and looked at J'onn. "Okay."

The man, who now had blood all over the front of his shirt stared up at the newcomer then started moving away, "what the hell!?" He yelled, but the second J'onn touched his temple, he was out.

J'onn looked over at Oliver once the man was unconscious, "he won't remember this and I will make sure the hospital staff doesn't see him like this, but you won't go after him."

"He's the one who attacked Chloe," Oliver told him, still feeling eerily calm.

"I know," he admitted to Oliver, "he has information on Lex, I will extract everything I can from his memory before he wakes up," J'onn promised, picking up the man easily.

"All right," he responded with a nod.

J'onn nodded and started floating mid-air, looking at Oliver a moment before becoming mostly transparent and flying with the man through the roof of the elevator.

He blinked a few times, then groaned as he looked upward. "Dammit, J'onn," he grumbled.

* * *

Chloe shifted slowly on the bed and opened her eyes slowly, squinting a little as she looked around the room. She was a little surprised to see the room empty, she raised her eyebrows a little when she saw the flowers on the bedside table and once she did, she shifted to reach for it with her good arm, but it was on the opposite side of the bed and she couldn't turn enough to reach for the card, so she sighed and just leaned back against the pillows.

"They're from J'onn," Oliver said quietly, then paused, looking at the second bundle of flowers. "I don't know who that other one's from."

She blinked and looked over at Oliver then back at the bedside table, only then noticing the second bundle, "I can't reach for the cards," she admitted, still a little sleepy.

"Do you uh--you want me to read them to you?" he offered. "Or hand them to you?"

"I can read them," she said softly, then paused, frowning as she saw the blood on his t-shirt, "what happened?"

Oliver looked down at himself, and grimaced. "The guard showed up here for treatment," he said cautiously, moving over to the flowers and plucking the cards free, handing them to her.

"Thanks," she told him as she took the cards with her good hand, but her eyes were still on him and a little wide, "what happened?" She repeated the questions, "are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he responded, shaking his head a little. "We just had...a slight altercation in the elevator."

"Where is he now?" Chloe asked, concerned.

"With J'onn," he told her.

"Oh," she nodded a little and took a deep breath, wincing a little, "I'm sorry I missed him."

"Careful," he murmured, moving closer to the bed. "I'm sure he'll back."

Chloe relaxed against the pillows again and looked up at him for a moment then down at the cards she had in her hands, "do you know how long I'm stuck here for?"

"A couple of days at least," he said quietly, pulling the chair up beside her bed and sitting down in it.

She sighed softly and adjusted her arm on the sling, opening the card J'onn had left for her, "I'm fine."

"Two broken ribs and a gunshot wound to the shoulder isn't fine, Chloe." His voice was quiet.

"It could have been worse," she told him quietly, "it's not like I can't walk."

"Yeah. It could have been worse," he agreed just as softly, not looking at her.

She glanced at him and pursed her lips together opening her mouth then closing it again, reading J'onn's card silently then opening the second one, her eyebrows raising a little. She had expected them to be from the team, or even Lois if she miraculously heard about it but not from _him_.

"Who are the others from?" he asked curiously, leaning back in his chair.

Chloe hesitated, considering for a moment if she should tell Oliver or if she should just lie about it, but she quickly decided against the latter, if Oliver ended up seeing the card, her lying to him would only make the situation worse, "Bruce Wayne," she said quietly.

His stomach twisted into a knot. "Oh. That's nice of him."

She shifted, trying to place the cards back on the table and wincing when she wasn't able to.

"I got it," he said quietly, reaching out and taking them from her, their fingers brushing lightly.

"Thanks," she told him quietly, holding his gaze for a second as their hands touched.

Oliver swallowed hard. "No problem." He set the cards down on the side table. "You need anything? Are you thirsty or hungry?"

"I'm okay," she said in a whisper, watching him, "did you have anything to eat?"

He shook his head, a faint, small smile touching his lips as he looked down for a moment. "You're something else," he murmured. There was a hint of warmth in his tone.

Her chest tightened slightly and she shrugged her good shoulder, "I could eat something if you do." Because even though he didn't answer her, Chloe knew Oliver well enough to know he hadn't slept at all or eaten anything.

"All right. Sounds like a fair deal." He glanced up at her.

Chloe tried for a small smile and nodded a little, "think you could sneak in some non-hospital food?"

"Probably not. But I think Bart could probably manage." He smiled faintly. "What sounds good?"

"Anything that doesn't involve oatmeal or jell-o," she said, raising her eyebrows, "once was bad enough."

He grimaced. "How about a big, greasy cheeseburger?"

Her face softened a little at the suggestion, it wasn't surprising that he knew what her favorite food was, but that even though it was her own fault that she was in there and still, he was going out of his way to make her feel better and despite all of their arguments, he was unwilling to leave her bedside, "I can't say no to that."

"I didn't think you could." He smiled a bit, pulling his cell phone out, making a call to Bart.

Chloe leaned against the pillows and sighed softly, listening as Oliver talked to Bart. She checked on her shoulder and made a face as she moved it, she couldn't even really type like this, she just hoped it would heal quickly, otherwise she would go insane.

"Bart's just gonna catch the rest of the gang up before he brings you real food," he told her with a small smile after he hung up the phone.

"Brings _us_ real food," she corrected him, raising her eyebrows a little.

He offered her a sheepish grin, and nodded. "Us," he echoed.

She relaxed a little against the pillows and watched Oliver for a second, "I really am sorry I scared you," She told him quietly.

Oliver's chest tightened at her quiet words. "I know," he said just as quietly.

Chloe pursed her lips together and nodded a little, looking down at her lap, she knew that didn't really make anything better, but she didn't know what else to tell him.

"We both need to be more careful," he murmured, looking down. "About everything."

"We do," she agreed quietly, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"And there's something you need to know." He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Tess and I are through. We have been for a long, long time."

She paused at his words, pursing her lip together harder, "it really... isn't any of my business," she said quietly, her stomach turning.

Oliver gazed at her. "I don't trust her. But we do work together," he said, ignoring her comment even as his chest tightened. "And that means on occasion, I do have to talk to her."

"I know," she said quietly, "and I will never trust her and I hate that she knows as much as she does, I'm just afraid that she will be the one to hand you to Lex on a silver platter," she admitted.

"How about we make a deal?" he asked just as quietly, gazing at her. "How about if we start listening to each other more?"

Chloe paused for a moment then turned to look at him, nodding a little, "sounds like a good deal."

He smiled, but it was faint, and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Whatever else has happened...we're still a team." He paused. "Right?"

She held his gaze, her stomach clenching but she nodded with a sad smile, "yeah, we are."

Oliver hesitantly reached his hand out to her.

Chloe lifted her left hand, the one that wasn't currently in the sling, and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

He squeezed her hand in return, holding her gaze.

She held his gaze back and smiled a little, "hopefully we can... keep this up?"

"I think we can if we just try a little more," he told her with a small smile.

"Yeah," she agreed, looking down at their hands for a moment and "I think you're right."

Oliver looked down at their hands, too, then laced his fingers through hers. "You're the best friend I've had, Chloe," he said softly. "I don't want to lose that."

Her face softened even though her chest tightened and for a second, she wanted to pull him closer, wrap her arms, well, arm around him and kiss him, comfort him, because every time she thought about how little people he had, it made her feel particularly bad for how things had turned out between the two of them, and she knew _that_ was her fault, "I don't either, we won't," she promised quietly.

"Good," he whispered, glancing up at her and meeting her eyes again. "Then we'll be okay."

"Okay," she told him quietly, squeezing his hand gently then brushing her thumb over his hand. That same moment, a strong wind hit her and Chloe closed her eyes, not surprised to see Bart standing there, holding a couple of bags of take out and a tray of milkshakes.

"Alright, who's hungry?" He said with a grin.

Oliver gave her hand one more gentle squeeze then let it go, turning to look at Bart over his shoulder. "I think we're both starving."

Chloe reached for the side of the bed and pressed the button so she was sitting more than laying down, enough to eat anyway, "thank God for greasy food and speedsters," she said, smiling softly at Bart then glancing at Ollie, she didn't know if it was the drugs or the near death experience, but she felt like things between her and Oliver would eventually be okay.


End file.
